This playbook provides ways in which Governors and teams can blur the lines between high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce. Governors play a significant role to Raise the Bar for student success by developing an "education-to-workforce system" that focuses on Unlocking Career Success.

Increasingly, companies are dropping four-year degree requirements in job postings, favoring skill-based requirements--such as communication and writing--instead. These types of nonacademic "soft skills" are viewed as essential for employment--employers consistently cite these abilities as among the most valuable in job applicants, yet…

Skills Bootcamps were introduced to support the 2019 UK Government's manifesto commitment to giving adults the opportunity to build sector-specific skills and to help employers by giving people the skills they need to move into jobs in sectors with skills shortages. Skills Bootcamps are short, flexible courses, co-designed with employers and run…

This article analyzes the motives for firms providing apprenticeship training in Catalonia and the reasons why other firms do not provide such training. In light of the recent introduction of dual apprenticeships in the formal education system in Spain, a country with a traditionally school-based vocational education and training (VET) system,…

The higher skills policy of the UK New Labour Government emerged from the recommendations of the Leitch Review of Skills, and was implemented in England between 2007 and 2010. The policy aimed to encourage higher education (HE) institutions to engage with employers and employer representative bodies to design and deliver HE provision that…

This technical assistance guide is written to help practitioners and policymakers involve large numbers of employers in providing high quality learning experiences in the workplace. Section I discusses the challenge of the school-to-work transition and guiding principles for new efforts. Section II focuses on strategies for recruiting and…

An exchange program was conducted between the Arlington, Virginia, elementary and middle school educators and the city's business/industry/community in order to increase educators' knowledge of local business developments and for employers to identify competencies needed in their businesses. Educators as well as business persons were contacted…

This report was based on telephone interviews with 86 individuals from 53 workplaces across Canada. The study sample included a diverse range of workplace types and sizes from both large and small communities. Of the eligible workplaces contacted, 93% were able to participate. The interview questions focused on why workplaces started basic skills…

This monograph, written for persons interested in promoting company-funded workplace basic skills programs, addresses the following 13 key issues: (1) companies' rationale for investing in workers' basic skills; (2) the factors that need to be in place for a workplace basic skills program to be adopted; (3) who in the company makes the decision to…

A study was conducted to explore the motivation for (or against) employer participation in long-standing school-business partnership programs that offer substantive work experience and learning at the worksite. Information was gathered through a literature search, in-person surveys of school personnel and selected employers (n=21), a phone survey…

This manual was developed as a guide for setting up a workplace education program. Based on the Workplace Education Project (WEP) in Peterborough, Ontario, the manual contains nine chapters that provide details of the WEP and suggestions for implementing the process in other locations. The first chapter provides a rationale for a WEP program, and…

A two-year research project was conducted to determine the skills employers consider necessary for the workplace. Recent changes in the economy have made employers begin to realize that they must assist their current and future workers in achieving competency in workplace basics if they are to be competitive. Employers have come to realize the…

The Patterns of Linkage project investigated the assumption that linkages between training institutions and employers can reduce discrepancies between training programs and employer demands, and hence increase the employability of youth. The purpose of the study was to examine and describe patterns of linkage between training institutions and…

Intended for the front-line practitioner, this toolkit provides tips, options, and practical how-tos for designing and implementing quality, youth-focused, and business-focused services for out-of-school youth (OSY) who are currently in, or about to enter, the workforce. It outlines an "income growth strategy" (IGS) that addresses what…

Contributors to this volume address the feasibility of work-based education as a reform for the U.S. educational system and consider whether such strategies will work with large numbers of students. Costs, problems of implementation, and alternative approaches are discussed. The following papers are presented: (1) "Introduction" (Thomas…